After being heralded by many this season as the world's best team, Barcelona heads into the first leg of its Champions League semifinal against fierce Spanish rival Real Madrid claiming to be the underdog.

Mainz proved its fairy tale start is for real by beating defending champion Bayern to remain perfect atop the Bundesliga on Saturday. Sami Allagui's goal after a quarter hour for Mainz was equalized by an own goal from Mainz defender Bo Svensson in the 45th minute. But Adam Szalai struck the winner in the 77th for Mainz's sixth straight victory to start the season.

While World Cup holder Spain was among the traditional powers to open qualifying for the 2012 European Championship with victories Friday, France was further humiliated by a 1-0 home defeat against lowly Belarus.

Europe's top clubs mostly skipped the chance to make their final signings until 2011, but AC Milan was involved in Tuesday's biggest deals with Manchester City misfit Robinho added to a formidable forward line and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar sold to Schalke.